Letter from the President - Shaarei Orah - The Sephardic Congregation of Teaneck

Letter from the President

September 2015 / Elul 5775

Shaarei Orah is a vibrant and growing Sephardic congregation. In fact, it’s the only ‘full-service’ Sephardic congregation in Teaneck offering minyanim seven days per week. Our kehilla includes Sephardic members from over 20 different countries around the world as well as Yemenites and Ashkenazim. Though we are diverse in ethnic origin, we all come together to pray, learn and enjoy festive occasions under the roof of Shaarei Orah. We take extraordinary effort to make sure that every Jew feels comfortable in our kehilla.

A relatively young synagogue, we have a wonderful opportunity to educate and nurture our children in our deep culture. It is each of our responsibility as individuals and as a kahal to create a warm and inviting environment, participatory in nature that can inspire our children with our Sephardic Tefilla, Halacha and Minhagim.

To accomplish this goal, the kehilla educates and nurtures our children through the extensive children’s programming, rich in Sephardic culture. The children’s programming is a key component of Shaarei Orah, and extremely important to us. Our Junior Tefilla for children between ages 8 - 12 is led by our Youth Group Director and is highly participatory, including a rotation of Divrei Torah. Shabbat Youth Groups for children ages 3 - 11 are led by youth group leaders who coordinate discussion and games centered on Sephardic learning and practices. We also have a strong Parent-Child Learning program throughout the year.